Prairie jewelry designer's earrings going into Grammy swag bags

When music's biggest stars open their Grammy Awards swag bags this weekend, they'll see sparkly earrings from a Regina jewelry designer now living in Winnipeg.

More than 160 pairs of Amanda Park's purple jewel-covered stud earrings are going into the Grammys' official gift bags, which pack a whopping $30,000 US worth of merchandise for nominees, performers, presenters and guests.

The 10-millimetre dusty purple Radiance Studs from Park's company, Park and Buzz, retail for $45 Cdn online and in about 50 stores across Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Being included in the Grammy swag bags is a major boost for Park, who started Park and Buzz in 2010 and moved to Manitoba 2½ years ago.

"When I first was starting to do this at my kitchen table, I think I was trying to make a couple things, maybe sell some jewelry, make some extra money, help pay for some stuff. And it kept getting bigger and word of mouth spreading and it just kind of grew on its own," she told CBC's Saskatchewan Weekend program.

"But I don't know if I would have really dreamt of the Grammys and swag bags … I don't think my dreams quite went like that."

Park said when it was confirmed a couple weeks ago that her earrings are going into the swag bags, she had to make sure she had enough of them in stock.

"We had ordered extra stock to be able to do this, and then my stores that I have were selling out of my products," she said. "I needed to stock them, and so we used up the product that we needed so it was like, 'What do we do?'"

Since word of the Grammy swag earrings went out, Park said she's noticed an uptick in online sales — with many customers ordering from Manitoba, where the Park and Buzz brand is not as well-known as it is in Saskatchewan.

'Let just go for it'

Park said she's thought about what the boost in exposure will mean for her business, which currently employs five people who work out of her home.

"Just had to think through what is this all going to mean? Am I going to need to hire more people? How busy is this going to get?" she said.

"But you know what? Business is all about taking a risk and stepping out of your comfort zone, so I'm just like, you know, let's just go for it. Let's try this. So it worked out."

A portion of Park and Buzz's sales are donated to charitable causes, including an initiative to support 32 orphans and young adults in Kenya.

As the business continues to grow, Park said she's looking at setting up a storefront in Winnipeg.

So who would she love to see wearing their new earrings?

"At first, I think I was saying Beyonce, but then I realized … if Adele wore my stuff, I think that will be pretty spectacular," she said.